Grey Crier
by Kyia Star
Summary: Dying, Nathan realized, had brought some unintended and unexpected consequences.


**Grey Crier**

So I guess I'm a bit more obsessed with Kuchiki Byakuya than I originally thought. The more I thought about this, the more I thought that it should be Hitsugaya in this role, but… the Kuchiki head is here to stay. Hopefully he's a bit more in character than he was in Storybrook; this story loosely and I mean loosely, follows _The Stranger in Storybrook_. For Haven, this follows after _Magic Hour. _For _Bleach,_ I don't have a clue where in the anime this would fit, sadly. I wish I owned either _Bleach_ or _Haven,_ but alas, I own neither.

Thanks to Cold_Queen_5 for her fantastic beta-skills. Onwards!

P.S. Leave me reviews. ^_^

...

Dying had been a painless, but extremely unpleasant experience. True, he hadn't felt the bullets pierce his lungs or the trauma his body went through trying futilely to survive, but Nathan knew he was a goner the moment those bullets ripped through skin. Being alive was preferable to being dead, and there wasn't anyone who'd say differently, Nathan knew. Coming back to life had been no more pleasant than his death. He distinctly remembered the feeling of being disorientated as his body tried to deal with the fact that his trauma had been… stolen was the best word he could come up with—and that was just the beginning.

Healthy tissue and muscle suddenly replaced the damaged pieces; lungs repaired and started to breathe after twelve hours of being collapsed. By far, the worst had been wandering around in a world of shadow and gray that was tangible, seeking, and _alive_ as he tried to find his way to _somewhere_ before all the sudden being yanked and shoved back into his newly restored body. Truthfully, Nathan didn't know which was worse: dying or resurrecting. There were some drawbacks: he still couldn't feel the sun on his skin or the bushes or flowers—or anything really—when he touched it, but on the bright side, he could still feel Audrey when she touched him, or when he touched her (which he tried to do as often as possible)—maybe that was all that mattered in the end.

It hadn't taken Nathan long to realize that being dead had altered a change in him. He began to… _see_ things; things he'd never reveal to Claire or Audrey, or Duke (assuming that they ever got comfortable enough to chat again as friends anyways). What he saw when he wasn't concentrating on the normal he was used to was Haven, but a Haven that was desolate and destroyed. The Haven he'd always known, green, bright, sometimes rainy, cold during the winter, balmy and beautiful during the summer; it was still there, but now there was another Haven juxtaposed with that one. That Haven was grim, dark… dead; it was riddled with restless, wandering souls that could see _him_ as well as he could see them. They wanted something, Nathan knew, he just didn't know what that was and worse, they seemed to know instinctively that he could help them; Nathan was pretty sure that he couldn't. What alarmed the police chief even more was the man he'd seen _observing_ him in that truculent world. That man wasn't one of the transient spirits he'd seen and thankfully whenever he appeared, the dead left Nathan alone.

He'd confessed all of this to Dwight one evening over beer. He supposed they were an odd pair: the Chief of Police and the Town Cleaner, but stranger things, Nathan thought. On the other hand, Dwight was a former member of The Guard knew about the Troubles (both men being troubled themselves) and knew how to deal with the clean up (including the citizens and their incessant questions). No, they weren't an odd pair at all.

"I know what you mean with the whole two Haven's thing," Dwight said, surprising Nathan.

"You see it too?" he asked, grateful that someone else knew what else he was talking about.

Dwight nodded and tipped his third beer bottle back. "Yep. Or…something similar—it's just Haven with a bunch of spirits wandering—not the grays and I definitely didn't have the feeling of them being alive. I don't see the same thing you do. Sorry."

"Huh." Nathan tipped his own bottle back; the beer seemed tasteless to him this night. "How about the guy I keep seeing?"

Dwight shook his head. "Haven't seen him, but…" He trailed off and looked at Nathan with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"But?" Nathan prompted.

Dwight looked into his beer bottle before returning his steady gaze to Nathan. "I never stopped breathing," he finished. "You did."

"You're saying that being dead actually did change me?"

"Seems that way. You gonna tell Audrey?" he asked suddenly.

Nathan shook his head and took another sip of beer. "Nope."

Famous last words.

…

The closer Halloween came, the more restless the spirits became, Nathan noticed. He also noticed with alarm that he was seeing the strange man multiple times during the day along with the ghostly Haven—world—that seemed to beckon to him. He'd also observed the man do some pretty bizarre things: he hit a few of the overly restless ghosts on the forehead with his sword (why, he didn't know, the reason eluded him; the ghosts were already dead—it wasn't like they could feel any pain); talk to a butterfly like it was a cellphone or worse like it was his best friend (Nathan didn't want to contemplate that one at all), and destroy grotesque creatures that had horrific, _primitive_ cries and scarier masks. It was evening on October thirty-first when everything came to a head. The day started normal—normal for Haven anyways. Frantic, last minute Halloween decorating, mad-rush for extra candy, last minute costumes, fender-benders and minor skirmishes all before noon—Haven normal, just the way he preferred it, he thought as he finished filling out a ticket for Mrs. Larsen, who'd rammed her station wagon into Mrs. Glugg's coupe and tried to steal the woman's Halloween candy from her car. It happened every year. Apparently it was Mrs. Larsen's turn to damage the cars. Nathan couldn't imagine how they were still insured.

It was no wonder that cops hated holidays, he thought, tearing off the ticket and handing it to a wrathful and pouting Mrs. Larsen. "You need to be in court by this date if you and Mrs. Glugg don't come to a civil agreement," he lectured. They would; they always did. They were best friends aside from Halloween. Taking the stolen candy he held it out of Mrs. Larsen's reach when she tried to snatch it back. "Don't make me add theft to the list of charges," Nathan said sternly, handing the bags back to Mrs. Glugg.

Sighing, he turned back to Audrey who was talking with Claire; no doubt they were discussing what should be done about Mrs. Larsen and Mrs. Glugg. That was when he saw him standing there across the street, a bemused expression on his face as he surveyed the annual crime scene. Narrowing his eyes, he resolved to march over there and _demand_ to know what the man's problem was—maybe he'd plant a fist in that perfect face of his for good measure. Before he could a take a step, he was stopped by a hand on his arm and touch that he could _feel_ burning through his sleeve.

"Nathan?"

Audrey. He closed his eyes and savored the feeling of her. He swallowed a few times and bit the inside of his cheek to stop a moan from escaping. "Parker. You were so busy talking to Claire that you missed all the fun." He nodded to Claire. "Claire."

Claire looked at the mess of two cars and grimaced. "I'll say. Mrs. Larsen and Mrs. Glugg again?"

"Every year," Nathan responded, rolling his eyes.

"Nathan, what is it?" Audrey asked, not letting him go without an explanation. Something was bothering him and she wasn't going to let him go without telling her what was wrong.

"Do you see that man across the street? Tall, black and blue, black bottom, top and white over-coat; odd taste in hair accessories, sword at his hip?"

Frowning, Audrey angled her to peer around Nathan and saw… nothing. Narrowing her eyes, she willed them to show her the same thing Nathan saw but her vision was still the same: nothing—there was nothing and no one across the street. Sharing a look with Claire, she looked back at Nathan and said, "There's no one over there with that description. Actually, there's no one over there at all."

His eyes went wide before he recalled that Dwight hadn't seen him, either. But this was Audrey: she could see what others couldn't.

"There's no one there," Claire told him in an almost perfect mimicry of Audrey. "You've been acting strange, lately. Are you sure you don't want to set up a session with me, Nathan?"

"Claire!" Audrey hissed.

The brunette shrugged. She was a psychiatrist; it was what she did.

Nathan groaned mentally. Great, he was officially certifiable courtesy of Claire. This day couldn't get any worse. Nathan glared at the man who did the oddest and most maddening thing: he smirked. It infuriated the Police Chief that he was the only one who could see it. Nathan shook his head.

"Must've been my imagination. And no, Claire, I don't want to set up a session." His phone rang and he dug it out of his pocket. "Wuornos."

His expression went steely and his cast one more look at his nemesis, only to find him gone. "Where? We're on our way."

"Nathan?"

"That was Dwight. He found a body and he said it's a bit strange."

…

Byakuya watched as Nathan climbed into his truck, Audrey in tow and drove to where the latest body had been found. He _stepped_ over to the place and stood on a branch, watching as they arrived to work an unfamiliar homicide.

_You enjoyed egging him on._

"Perhaps," he murmured. The Commander-General hadn't said anything about not taunting.

…

The body _was_ strange. It looked like it was in pristine condition, but the blood that pooled around it didn't match because there were no wounds that they could see. She stared up, sightless eyes filled with terror, mouth open in a scream—or maybe it was a plea for mercy. Her limbs were akimbo, as if she'd been discarded like a rag doll. At least they weren't looking at another victim from the Bolt Gun Killer.

"Dr. Lucassi," Nathan greeted. He nodded to the body. "Who is she?"

"Her name was Eileen Rouch, pronounced like 'grouch,' age twenty-four and new resident to Haven. I've got to tell you Nathan, I'm not sure what killed her. I'm hoping that's her blood and not another's. If not, she's not our only victim."

"Was she Troubled?" Audrey asked.

_She would ask,_ Nathan thought, observing the body from where he stood for a few minutes.

Lucassi shook his head. "Don't know. All I can tell you is that she's a new resident to Haven and she started working at the home-sport's-store a few months ago. She didn't have any friends yet."

_A nobody,_ Nathan thought, at last crouching down and scrutinizing her body. She'd been pretty in life. Brunette, green eyed, petite. A battered, silver ring sat on her middle finger and a bracelet on her left wrist—it was an odd design, he thought, tugging on latex gloves and gently lifting her hand to see it. It was old, too, like the ring. It was a simple design: a hand with a large eye in the middle of it. _A charm to ward off the evil eye,_ he thought, recognizing the symbol. _Too bad it hadn't done any good,_ he told himself, tilting his head to the side. His vision shifted and Haven alive was eclipsed by the other Haven; gray and bleak took over sunny and light. She lay there, pathetic on the desolate ground that crawled with shadows.

In the other Haven, Eileen's body looked totally different. It was beaten and sported massive teeth marks all over. Something had taken large bites out of her, and the bites explained the congealed blood on the ground. He started when his self-proclaimed nemesis appeared and frowned down at the body. Nathan could have sworn that time stopped upon his arrival.

"I missed one it seems. It'll attack again though." His face was expressionless to the point that Nathan wondered what it took to get any sort of rise out of him. And then he remembered that smirk and glowered at him. He lost his ire when he saw that the man's eyes were unbearably sad with a hard glint of anger.

"What killed her?" Nathan asked.

Audrey looked at him askance, wondering whom he was talking to. Lucassi had already gone over to the coroner van and was preparing to transport the body. There was no one over there.

The man looked at Nathan. "Don't you already know?"

Nathan nodded; he knew. "Those creatures with the white masks."

"Hollows."

"Hollows?"

"What's hollow?" Audrey asked, completely lost. "What are you talking about?" Her voice sounded tiny and far away, despite the fact that she was right next to him. "Actually," she said again, "_who_ are you talking to?"

Nathan only wished he knew; he looked at his nemesis, certain that this man had answers if he would reveal them.

"She can't see me you know. She can't see what you're seeing, either; nor can your friend, Dwight. You're unique again."

That wasn't what he wanted to hear the other man say, especially with amusement.

"Why?" he asked frowning. "Why am I so special?"

Byakuya spared him a glance. "Because you died. And because you weren't supposed to come back, either. I was sent to fetch you when you were suddenly yanked back into your body. Therein lies the problem." He shifted gears, aware that this was neither the time nor the place to discuss this. "It will attack again. If I'm truly unfortunate it'll have friends with it." He nodded to the girl. "She had one friend at work who was hoping to make it more. Find a young man named 'Casey.'"

Turning, he left. Nathan blinked and the bleak, gray patina that stained his vision dispersed as he left—or so it seemed to the Police Chief. Vertigo was not a pleasant sensation, but that was what he got going from one layer of Haven to the other. He stumbled and found Audrey's hand on his arm, steadying him. Awareness flooded him and shuddered imperceptibly—her _touch_.

"Whoa, Nathan, are you okay?"

Was he okay? He pondered the question briefly before nodding. "I'm fine."

"Who were you talking to?" she asked.

"I don't know. I really don't. But I suspect he'll be back." One look at her face said it all. Sighing, he pulled her close and ran his hands down her arms. "Parker, I'm not crazy. It has something to do with having been dead." He offered her a quick smile. "Don't worry. We'll figure it out. But in the meantime, let's go by where Eileen worked. Maybe Dr. Lucassi's wrong and she had a friend or two there."

…

It hadn't taken them long to find Casey. He was a good-looking young man that had a slow, methodical way of doing things: the result had some people saying that they thought him simple. In truth, behind that genial manner was a mind sharp as a tack. He proved it by spotting them immediately and knowing that whatever they were going to say was bad news indeed and it involved Eileen. At the news, tears slipped down his cheeks but his voice remained rock steady.

"She was new, but she was a hard worker. Everyone loved her; I can't think of a single person who'd wish her harm."

"Was she Troubled?" Audrey asked.

Wiping his eyes, he frowned at her. "I don't think she was troubled in terms of Haven Troubled. But she said she could see ghosts; she'd been able to her whole life. She wore a bracelet to protect herself—an Evil Eye Bracelet, and her grandmother's ring." He shrugged. "She told me that it contained hair from…some type of supernatural creature…she said once that it helped protect her…" He broke down again and Nathan and Audrey waited patiently. Casey wiped his eyes and sniffled. "I guess they didn't work after all, did they?"

Eyes compassionate, Audrey reached out and took his hand. In turn, he gripped hers and clung to it.

"How did she die?" he asked.

_Painfully,_ Nathan thought, but said, "At this point in time, we don't know. We're waiting for the autopsy. I can tell you that it wasn't the bolt-gun killer."

Casey nodded. "That's something, I guess."

They waited again. They didn't have to wait long.

"We were supposed to go to the movies today after we both got off. I was hoping… I was going to ask her if it could be our first official date." He swiped at his eyes again and fell silent.

"We're really sorry for your loss," Audrey said softly. Pulling out a card, she considered it for a moment before handing it to Casey. "If you can think of anything else, please call us."

Casey accepted the card, but put it to the side; they knew that he wouldn't think of anything or contact them, but it was a formality. He'd told them all he knew—it was as simple as that. Nodding her head, Audrey glanced at Nathan and left.

Nathan lingered. "Sorry for your loss."

He started for the door.

"Was it those creatures—the one's with the white masks? Did they kill her?"

Surprised, Nathan came to a halt and turned back. "How do you know about them?"

Absently, Casey picked off a bit of imaginary lint from his shirt. "I can't see them, but I could hear them. When I was with Eileen closing, I could sort of see them in a transparent, barely visible capacity. Did those things kill her?"

Nathan hesitated. What the hell, he already knew about them. What was the point in pretending otherwise? "I think so. For the record, I think they're called Hollows."

"Hollows," Casey repeated with a thoughtful frown on his face. Then he shrugged listlessly. "Makes sense, I guess."

Nathan knew that look and knew it well: it was the look that told him that Casey was going to take matter into his own hands, come hell or high water. "Casey, whatever you're thinking of doing, don't. Eileen wouldn't have wanted you to get hurt for her sake."

The look faded. "I won't," he promised, sounding sincere.

So why did Nathan not believe him? Maybe because he'd been at this job for too long. Exiting the store, he called the one person he could think of who would know if the boy became troubled. For good measure, he called Dwight, too. Duke would probably need backup.

…

In a perfect world, people would follow orders from authority figures to the letter. Casey apparently had never gotten that memo—then again, this wasn't a perfect world. Nathan had had the strongest feeling that that would be the case.

"He's troubled," Duke said into Dwight's phone, his words slightly slurred—he'd been hit soundly on the head. He pressed a cold pack to his sluggishly bleeding head. Under the circumstances, he didn't think it was stealing that they helped themselves to merchandise seeing that Casey was responsible for their predicament. "And I think…I could be wrong, but I think his 'trouble' if you will, is tracking and hunting. You and Audrey need to find him before he finds those creatures. Because that shotgun he took with him? I don't think it's going to work very well. He might be a 'perfect hunter' but Nathan, even _my_ aim's better than his. Dwight was lucky that his Kevlar vest took the bullet for him. I just woke up and I'm seeing double."

Nathan pressed his lips together and pinched the bridge of his nose. Great—just another Halloween in Haven. "Call Claire. She can help. Any idea which way Casey went?"

"He looked west towards the forest where Eileen was found," Dwight said, trying not to wince. Bullet wounds, even with Kevlar vests sure did hurt like a bitch. "Hey, when this is all done, Crocker said drinks are on the house."

"I don't recall saying that," Duke protested, trying to blink away the double of Dwight.

"Sure you did. We're going to deserve it."

As Dwight punched in Claire's number, Duke was forced to agree—as soon as he stopped seeing double of Dwight and everything else, he'd join them. A thought occurred to him: why _was_ Dwight wearing a Kevlar vest? He knew the man was troubled, but he didn't know what his trouble was.

"West," Nathan said, hanging up.

"Where Eileen was found," Audrey said, repeating Dwight. She took a breath and squared her shoulders. "All right then. Let's go hunt the perfect hunter."

_And hope that we're better at tracking._

…

They weren't better at tracking than Casey, but it didn't take them long to find him, either. By the time they entered the forest and made their way to where Dwight had found Eileen, night had officially fallen and the gray patina that Nathan saw only sometimes was slipping in like a slowly amassing fog as if it were welcoming them—well, him, at least. He wasn't certain that Audrey was even aware of it. They had no trouble finding Casey, either. He stood in a circle of Hollows; they were completely visible. Audrey took a shocked breath, her eyes impossibly wide upon seeing them for the first time. He was sure that her past lives had never seen something so horrifying. The visibility of what had killed Eileen was the smallest of their problems.

The biggest problem? There was more than one of them and when they ran up to Casey, they found themselves immediately engulfed in the tight circle. It was an automatic reflex that had them drawing their guns, but the grim look on Casey's face told them what they needed to know: bullets didn't work, just as Duke said. Nathan wondered if this wasn't the end. The creature's attention shifted from Casey to Nathan and the cacophony started immediately; the screams hurt his ears.

"That's him."

The group inched slightly closer.

"The one that came back."

Closer again, forcing Casey to step back.

"Oh, that power!" A long red tongue slipped out of one hideous mouth and tasted the air, coming very close to Nathan's face; the breath was absolutely stupendous and Nathan had fight the reflex to gag. "He's _oozing_ it! He doesn't even know he's got it! I want it."

_What power?_ Nathan wondered, taking a step back. He didn't have any power. All he had was a Trouble, one that was probably going to come in handy very soon.

The group shuffled closer and Nathan knew when his back hit Casey's because if it had been Audrey he'd have felt it.

"He looks delicious."

They were hemmed in.

The attention shifted to Audrey.

"I like blondes." Another tongue came close for a pseudo-taste. "Their screams are the best."

"Three meals! What a treat!"

_It was ugly, this type of talk,_ Nathan thought. They were surrounded by monsters casually discussing dinner—with the three of them as the appetizer (Casey), main course (Nathan), and dessert (Audrey). This was not how Nathan wanted to die, but unless someone stronger and more powerful came along (under the circumstances highly unlikely), then this was the end. A strange sort of calm filled him—he recognized it as acceptance. Reaching out, he gripped Audrey's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, relishing that if nothing else, he'd feel her touch during his final moments.

"We should attack all at once."

"Agreed."

"Then on the count of three!"

Nathan bit his lip and leveled a glare that didn't deter them.

"On three! One…"

Nathan shut his eyes and imagined that Casey and Audrey had done the same.

"Two…"

He took a breath, probably his last (again) and gripped Audrey's hand so hard he heard her gasp.

'Three' never came. The Hollow that had been counting suddenly elicited a ghastly shriek combined with its signature scream and Nathan's eyes flew open in time to see it dissolve into particles and be swept away to somewhere. Their circle of three was suddenly joined by Nathan's self-proclaimed nemesis.

All at once, the rest of the Hollows drew back, clearly afraid. They began to speak again, but this talk was different: it wasn't a discussion.

"Shinigami." Fearful

"Shinigami." Disgusted.

"Shinigami!" Excited.

"That robe—a captain!"

_Eh?_ Nathan wondered. _What did that mean?_

"He's a captain."

"Captains taste the best, I've heard. Let's save him for last!"

Byakuya spared the closet Hollows surrounding him (them) a disinterested glance. As if he'd allow that. He held up his sword. "Scatter, Senbonzakura."

The sword disintegrated into millions of pieces of… flower petals?

Nathan, Audrey, and Casey looked on in disbelief as petals flew into the air gently. _It's official: we're going to die,_ Nathan thought. Those flower petals were pretty things to look at before they got eaten. He was wrong. In the blink of an eye, the blossoms began to attack the Hollows in savage flurry—as if they _loathed_ the creatures with a passion. The Hollows disintegrated with more screams until they were gone; it was over almost before it began—they hadn't had the chance to fight back. Nathan couldn't bring himself to feel any pity about it, either. The petals returned to their master, once again becoming a wicked blade that gleamed sinisterly in the moonlight. Dropping his gun, Casey turned and ran. Nathan supposed the perfect hunter knew when he was in over his head. Byakuya didn't even spare him a glance as he fled; his attention was all on Nathan.

"Who are you?" Audrey asked. "What _were_ those things? They called you a captain—captain of what?"

"And thus we come to you," Byakuya told Nathan, ignoring Audrey entirely; she wasn't relative to his assignment—unless she got herself involved, that was. "The man who wasn't supposed to live—and yet, here you are."

"What does that mean?" Audrey snapped, standing in front of Nathan.

"I wasn't supposed to come back," Nathan answered, his tone a bit sad, but understanding. "You said that earlier."

Earlier. Audrey's eyes widened and she looked at Byakuya, really looked with Nathan's voice echoing inside her. _'Do you see that man across the street? Black and blue, tall, black top and bottom, white over-coat, odd hair-accessories, sword?'_

It was him, she realized. Nathan wasn't crazy or hallucinating. He'd been there all along. "It's him, isn't it?" she asked. "The guy you saw before."

Nathan nodded. "That's him."

Audrey glared at him. "Nathan wasn't supposed to come back—so what? What are you going to do? Stab him with those petals of yours?"

Byakuya continued to ignore her, focusing entirely on Nathan.

Grabbing Audrey's hand to silence her, Nathan asked, "Do I have to go back to be being dead?"

For a long moment Byakuya didn't answer. Finally he did. "No, you don't have to go back to being dead. The balance between the worlds righted itself to compensate your return."

No less confused, but immensely relieved, Nathan exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and gently caressed Audrey's hand, lifting it to his lips.

"However, if you wish to stay alive, then I need to seal that power of yours."

That was the second time he'd heard of his power and dammit, he wanted answers. "What power?"

The sixth division captain gestured around at the decayed world, before dropping to his sides once again. "I didn't bring this or invite this. You did. You noticed it when your concentration slipped and you ceased to pay attention. This is your power. You've only been alive again for a few weeks. Trust me when I tell you it will only get worse—worse and worse until you won't know where you are, or what you are. When you reach that stage, you're fodder for the Hollows."

Nathan thought about that. He knew from his own line of work that it didn't take long for a mind to breakdown and snap. That possibility was worse in Haven. What awaited him when it did? Nathan really didn't want to find out.

"Do it," he stated.

"Nathan!" Audrey protested. "No. No, you can't. You can't trust this guy, Nathan. He might just be talking to gain your trust; he might turn around and steal your power for himself, like Duke's friend did."

As she rambled, Nathan's eyes were on the man whose name he still didn't know. His facial expressions hadn't changed: unemotional to a fault and the police chief was sure that it would take a monumentally catastrophic event to change that. His eyes, however, were a different story. They were…angry at her accusations and Nathan needed no retrospections to understand. He sighed. That man had saved the three of them from being eaten; he'd helped the ghosts that Nathan had been encountering. Nathan doubted that power-theft was on his list of things to do and unless he misread the man, he didn't _need or want_ Nathan's power: he had his own and it was greater than Nathan's.

"Audrey," he said, taking her hands and silencing her protests. "You and I both know how fragile the mind is, and here in Haven, the Troubles make things even more delicate. I don't want to find out what becomes of me when _this_ becomes my only reality." He gestured around to the dead grays and remnants that wandered around listlessly and sighed sadly; he wasn't sure he liked this power the man said he had.

_That's because you don't know how to control me yet,_ whispered a voice. _But don't worry, _it continued. _I'm not going away forever—you'll see me again._ Nathan chose to label the voice as his over-active imagination, even though he knew it wasn't. "I like the sunlight, even though I can't feel it. This place? It's gray, dreary, and if I lose my sanity and come here, you won't be able to join me, and I can't allow that because you might end up choosing Duke if I'm gone."

Audrey smiled shakily and gave a watery laugh as tears slipped down her cheeks. "Boys," she managed.

Nathan squeezed her hands before dropping them. "Besides, idiopathic neuropathy, remember? I won't be able to feel it."

Famous last words for the second time that week.

Stepping away from Audrey, he stepped over to the other man, bound and determined to get a name from him at least.

"My name's Nathan, Nathan Wuornos. And you are?"

The other man hesitated before saying, "Kuchiki. Byakuya Kuchiki, Sixth Division Captain."

Well, he'd gotten a name and a rank, even though it didn't mean anything to him. _Not yet it doesn't,_ the pesky voice interjected. _But it will, and sooner than you think._ Ignoring it, Nathan asked, "What was that butterfly you were talking to?"

Byakuya sighed. They always asked. "A hells butterfly. It's the Shinigami way of communicating."

"It was slightly disturbing to see you talk to it."

The Sixth Division Captain shrugged elegantly. "I don't have to worry about anyone intercepting a butterfly and trying to decode the message, however." He raised his sword. The time to talk was over, apparently. Taking a deep breath, Nathan tried to prepare himself.

_Don't worry. This is only temporary and he knows it, too._

_Shut up,_ Nathan thought savagely. It seemed his mind was already cracking.

That was when Byakuya pierced him with his sword twice. To Nathan, they didn't have a rhyme or reason, but to captain that inflicted them, they did: they severed the links to his power, locking it away until it needed to reemerge.

_Your mind __**isn't**__ cracking,_ the voice said sharply, but already it sounded tiny and far away._ You're not crazy._ _When the time comes, you will learn to control me. Until then, I will stay… out of sight and out of mind… _ It went silent after that and Nathan took a brief second to mourn that, as it felt like a piece of him had been stuffed away.

Nathan was sure that he wouldn't feel anything when the Captain stabbed him. So when pain, bright and excruciating made his body seize and collapse, all he could do was revel in the feeling, twisted as it was. He stared up at Byakuya from the ground.

"Nathan!" Audrey cried, dashing over to him and cradling him in her lap, heedless of the blood that amassed around him.

"Don't worry, that wasn't fatal."

Nathan didn't answer. He was too busy feeling the pain that radiated through his entire body. The gray, decaying world of Haven rolled back into him, creeping back into the very recesses of his soul where it was sealed, but not before it gave him what seemed to be a final kiss; Haven returned to the starlight and Nathan panted in pain.

"That…hurt…" he muttered, looking at Byakuya accusingly. Dimly he heard sirens coming closer and registered Duke, Claire, and Dwight rushing over to them. Had Audrey called them? He didn't know.

Flicking the blood off his blade, Byakuya returned it to its sheath. "You only feel no pain when it comes to the human world. I'm not part of that world. And with that, I bid you goodbye. I suspect I'll have the unfortunate pleasure of seeing you when you die again." He turned to go.

"Yeah," he answered. "Thanks."

The Captain halted and turned back. In all his years, he couldn't remember ever being _thanked_ by a human. "Whatever for?"

His truly baffled tone made Nathan smile—he was sure it looked more like a grimace. "You know… for saving us, for saving Eileen, even though she's dead. For not killing me again."

Byakuya was silent before scoffing. "I'm simply completing my objective. We'll call it a success. Try to live a long and healthy life. I don't want to see you anytime soon." Human life he knew was fragile.

"You as well…" He was gone; Nathan was already talking to air.

…

Kuchiki Byakuya returned to Soul Society and saw the Commander-General waiting for him just inside the gates. Byakuya's return meant success; still, he had to report in and _write_ the report. Kuchiki Byakuya and his vice-captain Abarai Renji had been given specific assignments. Byakuya, having returned from Maine had been sent back to the Northeastern state—to an island off its coast to determine if a few people who had been dead, but were now alive again were upsetting the balance between the worlds. If they were, his orders regarding this had been clear: fix the oversight. Shinigami lived to protect that balance by whatever means necessary. Fortunately, he'd found the balance in tact. His vice-captain, meanwhile, had been sent to a small town in Texas to find the sisters who could resurrect the dead and seal _their_ powers. He could tell that Renji had returned; hopefully he'd been successful. He couldn't imagine Renji being anything less, but there were times when he wasn't certain.

"I was successful," he said. "I'll have my report to you by the end of day."

"I'm glad that it was a success," the man said, his voice strong, but weathered with age. "Tell me your opinion of him."

"When he dies and stays dead, he could be an asset here in Soul Society. Was Renji successful?"

"He was; he is waiting for you in your head quarters. Thank you, Captain Kuchiki, for taking this assignment."

He'd been thanked for a second time. It was unnerving, especially because he hadn't been given a choice in the matter and neither had Abarai. Not answering, he made his way back to his squadron to compile reports, Nathan Wuornos already a distant memory.

…

Nathan was bored. He hoped to hell the hospital would let him out tomorrow, because if not, he was going to discharge himself. The pain had disappeared, his trouble having over-ridden what the man had done. Prodding it brought nothing so he wanted to eat some solid food and drink some beer. The hospital better release him tomorrow.

A familiar scent invaded his room and he grinned as the door opened to reveal Audrey with plastic bags.

"You brought me pancakes," he said, foolishly pleased.

"They are your favorite." She smiled at him as she placed the take out boxes in front of him. He looked none the worse for wear. Still… "How do you feel?" she asked.

"My trouble took the pain away," he told her, using the plastic fork to spread some of the butter and adding syrup to the mix. He cut a piece and shoveled it in. "Hopefully, the doc'll discharge me tomorrow," he said around a mouthful of pancake.

"That's good. Because you have some explaining to do when you're out." Audrey's tone brooked no argument.

Nathan sighed and set his utensils down, the pancakes momentarily forgotten. "That man, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, he told me that I wasn't supposed to come back from being dead. When I did come back, it didn't take long for me to realize that I could… _see_ things that others couldn't. I saw Haven in a gray, degrading world like you saw a few nights ago."

"You'd been seeing that all this time?" she asked shocked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"What was I supposed to say?" Nathan countered. "And to who? You? You'd have grabbed Claire the first second you got and tried to shove me into therapy with her. The Troubled have enough enemies without them getting word that the Chief of Police is out of his mind."

"You think Claire would have told anyone?" Audrey asked, her voice incredulous and hurt.

Nathan allowed a moment of regret for causing the hurt, but it was gone in the next second. "No, I know Claire. She never would have told anyone; being a psychiatrist, she _couldn't _tell anyone if she wanted to keep her license. But I can't say the same for the cops we work with. They're not all loyal and I don't put it past any of them to pass on to an enemy that the Chief is insane. Besides, you saw for yourself: I wasn't lying about anything; I just didn't tell you." He quirked a small smile. "It was supposed to lessen your worries; you have enough to deal with."

Audrey was tempted to continue with their discussion, but let it go. An argument would always be there, she suspected. And she couldn't blame Nathan for not saying anything; he probably thought he'd been going insane too, never mind anyone else. "So it's gone…that…power?"

"No, it's not gone. It's just… sealed," he told her, tapping the bandages. "It'll come back when it's needed. It told me that."

"It? You haven't named it yet?" she asked, only half-joking.

Nathan's brow furrowed. "I'm pretty sure it already has a name. I won't know it until it tells me when it comes back."

Audrey felt a chill. _When it came back, Nathan would be dead, _she thought cold all over. "Don't talk like that!" she admonished.

Nathan shrugged. "All things die, Parker." He picked up his fork and knife again and cut a small piece of pancake, holding it out to her. "It's a sucky date, but…won't you join me?"

Audrey looked at the piece he held out to her—all saturated and soggy with syrup. Smiling ruefully, she sat down and grabbed the second box; she'd planned to join him all along—the chocolate chip ones were for her, after all. She opened the to-go box and the scent wafted up to her, making her stomach rumble. "Beats our first date."

"Chocolate chip?" he asked scandalized. "You got chocolate chip? Traitor."

She laughed. "You didn't ask."

Stuffing the proffered piece in his mouth, he pretended to ignore her, but she saw the smile hovering around his mouth. She matched it and proceeded to saturate her own pancakes with syrup.

Far off, in the recesses of his soul, a whisper emerged, cocooning itself into his mind, _'Gurekuraiya. When you need me, my name is Gurekuraiya.'_

~Fin.


End file.
